STATEN ISLAND – With poems and a dance program, the Greek school of the Church of the Holy Trinity/St. Nicholas community in Staten Island celebrated the anniversary of Greek Independence after the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, March 24. Father Nicholas Petropoulakos congratulated the students and the principal, Stavroula Champakis, and made a brief reference to the history of the day, saying “today, as we honor and celebrate the 203 years since the Greek Revolution, we must contemplate the significance of the struggle of our ancestors who shed their blood to liberate their beloved country. After two centuries, we owe our gratitude for the sacrifice they made and never to forget them. Long live the nation, long live Greece.”

Father Vasileios Apostolidis offered “warm congratulations to the Greek School for the beautiful celebration our children gave us. They brought to life glorious moments of the Greek Revolution, moved us, and reminded us of the duty we all have as Greeks, never to forget the heroic moments of our national rebirth. I sincerely wish everyone many years, always free.”

Champakis also stated that “we all must honor with respect and faith the struggles of our ancestors in order to safeguard the future of the Nation guided by our religious and national ideals. Many years to our Homeland. Many years to our Greece.”